About the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace MeetingTime Software Application

Some parameters relevant to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration can be viewed or modified in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace MeetingTime, the PC-based utility for the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Audio Server. For complete information about MeetingTime, see Deploying and Using MeetingTime.

About Video-Conferencing Access Information

Each video conference is identified by a code that is composed of two numbers:

The service prefix that the conference scheduler chose.

The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Meeting ID.

For example, if the scheduler chose service prefix "67" and the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conference ID of a conference is 1234, then the corresponding video conference is identified as 671234. Cisco Unified CallManager and the gatekeeper use this number to route participants through the network to Video Administration for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and then the gatekeeper or Video Administration uses the Meeting ID part of this number to direct callers to the correct Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU and conference.

Users of ISDN video endpoints dial in by using an ordinary E.164 number, wait for an IVR prompt, and then enter the code for the conference that they want to attend.

Table: Video Conferencing Access Information

Parameter

Values

Where Specified

Video Service Code

The video service code defines the capabilities of a meeting, such as the video layout, which codecs are allowed, and what the bandwidth limits are. Users select a video service code when they schedule meetings.

The Video Service Codes that are available in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace are replicated from the Meeting Types in Video Administration, which are downloaded from the Service Prefixes configured in the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCUs.

To specify the default video service code for meetings:

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, look for the Company Specific Information heading, click Scheduling Parameters, then scroll down in the panel on the right to the Video Service Code field under the Video meetings heading.

Note: In a WebConnect deployment that includes video, all Cisco Unified MeetingPlace servers at all sites must have the default video service code configured in MeetingTime.

Main Video Phone Number

If your Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU system is configured to support ISDN video endpoints, enter the phone number that those endpoints use to dial in to the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing PRI Gateway. This is the DID number assigned to the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing PRI Gateway.

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, look for the System Configuration heading, click Telephony Access, then scroll down in the panel to the right to the Video Information section.

1st alternate video phone number

2nd alternate video phone number

Cisco Unified MeetingPlace does not currently use these fields.

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, look for the System Configuration heading, click Telephony Access, then scroll down in the panel to the right to the Video Information section.

About Changing System Configuration Settings

Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration components are configured to work together. Settings in each component enable communication between the components. If you change settings in one component, you must also change the corresponding setting you entered in other components.

If you need to change values that you entered during installation of Video Integration, or change configuration settings in any of the other component parts needed to make the system work, see the following sections:

Changing the Active Video Integration Server

In Cisco Unified MeetingPlace deployments that have multiple Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Conferencing servers configured in clusters, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration must be installed on every Web Conferencing server, but only one server can be activated to host video conferences.

Ensure that only one Web Conferencing server in the cluster is activated to host video conferences.

Note: When you are activating a server that was previously inactive, confirm that the correct Voice Link E.164 value is entered the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace H.323/SIP Gateway.

Changing Settings in Other Components

To change settings in other components that are required for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration, such as the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU or Cisco Unified MeetingPlace H.323/SIP Gateway, do the following procedure.

To Change Settings in Other Components

Plan to make changes during a time when your system is not in use.

If changes that you make to settings in the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU will reduce the number of conferences or ports available, verify that there are still enough resources to accommodate conferences that have already been scheduled. See the About Video-Conferencing Statistics.

Stop the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Conferencing service, which will also stop the Video Integration service.

Table: Conference and Port Parameters

Maximum number of video ports that users can schedule for a conference.

The maximum number of ports that can be scheduled in advance.

Entering a large number into this field may limit the availability of ports and simultaneous conferences.

Entering 0 means that video conferences cannot be scheduled.

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, then Scheduling Parameters, then scroll down in the panel on the right to the Video meetings heading, Max Ports per Meeting field.

Default number of video ports to schedule for each conference.

This number appears by default in the # of Video Callers field on the scheduling form of users whose profiles allow them to schedule video conferences. If users do not change this value when they schedule a conference, this number of video ports will be scheduled for that conference.

Any number between 0 (zero) and the maximum number of video ports in the system that can be scheduled. By default, this parameter is set to zero.

Entering a large number into this field may limit the availability of ports and simultaneous conferences.

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, then click Scheduling Parameters, then scroll down in the panel on the right to the Video meetings heading, Default # of Ports to Schedule field.

The prioritization level for the MCUs

Bandwidth-Video Administration allocates resources to conserve bandwidth. For example, at a site with two users and an MCU, Video Administration creates a local meeting. In some cases, this may cause a meeting to cascade to conserve bandwidth, even though a single MCU is available to host the meeting.

Delay-Video Administration allocates resources to ensure the best video quality. Video Administration invites all users directly to a main MCU, whatever their location. Since Delay can be costly in terms of bandwidth, we recommend that you take topology into account before selecting the Delay option.

Local MCU-Select this option if Video Administration has more than one MCU. Video Administration invites all of the participating terminals to meetings hosted on their respective local MCUs (according to IP Topology settings), and then cascades these meetings together to form a single conference.

In MeetingTime, click the Configure tab, then click Scheduling Parameters, then scroll down in the panel on the right to the Video meetings heading, Local MCU Prioritization Setting field.

Entering a value for this parameter simplifies for users the process of attending video conferences.

For H.323 or SCCP endpoints:

Enter the E.164 phone number of the endpoint of the user.

For ISDN endpoints:

Precede the E.164 phone number of the video endpoint with the service code of the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing PRI Gateway. For example, if the phone number of the ISDN video endpoint is 1-800-555-0101, and the service prefix for the type of call that is appropriate for that endpoint is 89, enter 8918005550101.

In the profile of the user, in the Video Meetings section.

Important Information About DMZ Configurations and Video Conferencing

When users schedule immediate or reservationless meetings, their profile settings determine whether the meeting allows Internet access to the web conference. Because video conferences must be held on the server on which Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration is installed, this profile setting therefore also determines whether an immediate or reservationless meetings can include video conferencing and who can attend the video and web conferences.

Use Table: Video-Conferencing Statistics to determine the appropriate setting for the Allow Internet Access profile parameter for users who are allowed to schedule video conferences.

Table: Allow Internet Access Profile Parameter Settings

If Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration Is Activated

And the Allow Internet Access Parameter in the Profile of the Meeting Scheduler Is Set To

Then That Scheduler Can Initiate Immediate or Reservationless Meetings That Include

But That Scheduler Cannot Initiate Immediate or Reservationless Meetings That Include

Web-conferencing participants or IP-based video-conferencing participants who are outside the firewall

Behind the firewall

Yes

Web-conferencing participants who are outside the firewall

Any video conferencing

In the DMZ

No

-

Any video conferencing, or web-conferencing participants who are outside the firewall

In the DMZ

Yes

All video- and web-conferencing participants

-

Note: Users can work around the limitations described in this section by scheduling standard scheduled meetings that start as soon as they are scheduled, instead of scheduling immediate or reservationless meetings. They must include a meeting ID that is different from their profile ID when they schedule the meeting.

About Video-Conferencing Bandwidth

The default bandwidth for video conferencing when users outdial to their video endpoint from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Conferencing is set in the profile for each user, or for the group that each user is assigned to.

Users can change their bandwidth setting at any time. Changes take effect if they rejoin the web conference, or the next time that they join a web conference. When participants dial in, the endpoint and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU negotiate to determine the minimum usable bandwidth.

Users can change their video connection bandwidth via the Account Basics page in Web Conferencing, or in MeetingTime.

If the endpoint does not support the specified bandwidth, participants will have only voice capability. If the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU has an MP card, viewing multiple participants (continuous presence mode) requires more bandwidth than viewing only the active speaker.

About Video Terminal Profiles

A video terminal is a video endpoint that has a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace user profile. For example, you might set up a video terminal profile for a conference room video system. When scheduling meetings with video, users with video scheduling capabilities can view the availability of various video terminals on the day of the meeting and reserve one or more video terminals for the meeting. Meeting notifications list the invited terminals and the dial-in number for each terminal.

Video terminal profiles are created in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Administration and are then synchronized to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Conferencing by using the Replication Service. Having the profile information in both components enables the scheduling, reporting, and displaying of video endpoints for video conferences. Video terminal profiles are displayed in MeetingTime along with User Profiles, but their Profile Type value is set to "Video terminal." Video terminal profiles have values configured for additional video terminal parameters, including video terminal name, ID, and classification.

For information about creating and managing video terminals in Video Administration, see the Resource Management. Note that the user-related fields found in the video terminal configuration pages of the Video Administration interface do not have any relation to user pages in MeetingTime. The user fields in Video Administration should be left blank as they do not have any effect on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace application.

Note: If you are configuring video terminal profiles in Video Administration, we recommend that you set the meeting start and end guard times to zero. This will allow for back-to-back scheduling of video terminal resources.

About Video-Conferencing Statistics

Use the tools described in this section to monitor video-conferencing usage. The reports described in Table: Video-Conferencing Statistics include non-video statistics in addition to video-conferencing statistics. Reports in MeetingTime that are not listed in the table do not include video-conferencing statistics.

Table: Video-Conferencing Statistics

For each meeting or instance of a recurring meeting, you can view the following values:

The scheduled number of video locations.

The actual number of video locations that attended the meeting.

This number includes the link between the Audio Server and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU.

The bandwidth used for that conference.

In MeetingTime, click the Review tab. Search for the meeting or meetings you are interested in. In the window on the left, click a meeting. View information about that meeting in the window on the right.

Information in the Review tab is best for onscreen viewing. For statistics that you can save and manipulate in other applications, use the Report tab and the information in the remaining rows of this table.

For each conference in the range of dates you choose, view or save the following video-conferencing statistics:

The number of video ports scheduled (nVideoPortsReq).

The number of video ports actually used (ActNumVideoPorts).

The total number of seconds of video attended by all video participants in that conference (TotVideoPortSecs).

In MeetingTime, click the Report tab, then click Raw Meeting Details Info in the panel on the left. In the window on the right, in the Values column, click an option such as the start date for your report, then enter a value and click OK. Choose a value for each option. You cannot change items that appear in italics. Finally, click Generate Report.

Statistics in this report do not include the link between the Audio Server and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU.

For each conference in the range of dates you choose, view or save the following video-conferencing statistic:

The length of the video conference.

In MeetingTime, click the Report tab, then click Raw Mtg Participant Info in the panel on the left. In the window on the right, in the Values column, click an option such as the start date for your report, then enter a value and click OK. You cannot change items that appear in italics. Choose a value for each option. Finally, click Generate Report.

Look for videolink in the uid column for the conferences (confnum) that you are interested in; the value in the nVSecInConf column for the videolink row for that conference is the length in seconds of the video conference, from the time the first video participant entered the conference to the time the last video participant left, plus five minutes.

Statistics in this report include the link between the Audio Server and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU. This link is called videolink.

For the range of dates you choose, the unidentified participants who attended meetings via video endpoint, and when each participant entered and left the video conference.

In MeetingTime, click the Report tab, then click Raw Participant Join Leave Info in the panel on the left. In the window on the right, in the Values column, click an option such as the start date or end date for your report, then enter a value and click OK. You cannot change items that are written in italics. Choose a value for each option. Finally, click Generate Report.

Each line in this report represents one participant in one conference. A conference is listed as many times as there were participants in that conference. In the Device column, number 4084 indicates a video endpoint. Therefore, if four lines for a particular conference list 4084 in the Device column, then four participants attended that conference via video endpoint.

Statistics in this report do not include the link between the Audio Server and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU.

A summary of profile information includes the following video-related fields:

Allow Video Scheduling.

Video Endpoint Bandwidth.

Video Endpoint Address.

In MeetingTime, click the Report tab, then click Raw Profile Info in the panel on the left. In the window on the right, in the Values column, choose a value for each option. You cannot change items that are written in italics. Finally, click Generate Report.

In this report, gd represents Group Default.

A summary of group information includes the following video-related fields:

Allow Video Scheduling.

Video Endpoint Bandwidth.

In MeetingTime, click the Report tab, then click Raw Group Info in the panel on the left. In the window on the right, in the Values column, choose a value for each option. You cannot change items that are written in italics. Finally, click Generate Report.